Une seule femme a Londres

There's something about London that is so familiar to me. Maybe it's because it's grey and rainy, just like my beloved and much missed San Francisco. Maybe it's because I was born in the UK and thus a love for London is built into my DNA. Or maybe it's because my dad's family is British on both sides, something that is evidenced by the fact that we sit down for tea four times a day, listen to the Queen's Christmas Day address every year, eat (and enjoy!) classic British food like Bangers & Mash, Shepard's Pie and Digestive Biscuits, and have large collections of British porcelain china like Royal Doulton and Wedgewood. Whatever it is, I felt immediately at home when I arrived in London last Tuesday (and no...not JUST because it's the first English speaking country I've been to in a month and a half. Although, I do have to admit, it almost seemed like a nice surprise to walk down the streets and not have to guess what people were saying...or wonder whether or not they were making fun of you for taking so many pictures of the same statue...)

For the first time in my travels I have an entire week to spend alone. I'll be meeting up with a few friends for a drink or a curry here and there, but for the most part it's going to be one-on-one, Kristen-on-Kristen time. I'm surprisingly excited about this whole idea, especially since I've never wanted to travel alone before. I've always felt like traveling isn't really traveling unless you have someone to share that "Oh my god, I can't believe I'm actually here!!" moment with. However, over the past month I have met so many WOMEN who are traveling alone. In fact, the number of solo female travelers I've met has outnumbered the solo men travelers by at least 10-1.

So I started to think that maybe this whole traveling alone thing is worth a shot. I mean, just thinking of having the freedom to determine my own itinerary everyday, wander at my own pace, get lost in a cool neighborhood for hours at a time, or stop in a park to write whenever I feel the urge was enough to get me excited for my lone London experience.

So, what does une femme seule do in London? A few things:

1) Walk, walk, walk everywhere
London is an amazingly walkable city. Sure, sometimes the streets get a little crowded, or it starts pouring rain out of seemingly nowhere, but there's so much going on all over the city that you'd miss if you didn't set out on foot.


For example, on my second day here (my first day was used almost entirely for sleeping and laundry purposes) I walked the path along the Thames from the apartment I'm staying at in a slightly stodgy Pimlico neighorhood, to the Tate Britain, and then on to the Victoria Tower Gardens, right beside the Houses of Parliament, bringing me to the first example of things you miss when you don't walk. No sooner had I entered the park than I noticed a fairly large group of people milling about, all of them with beautiful dogs in tow. That's right! Turns out the Westminster Dog Club was crowning "Dog of the Year" that day. I'm afraid I missed the crowning of the grand champion and runner-up, but I did manage to catch third place dog receiving his ribbon and obligatory time in the sun.

After snapping a few sneaky pictures of the dogs and their owners I was just about to head out of the park when I saw a group of boys, all in grey uniforms, sitting on the lawn, pencils in hand, sketching the Parliament. I'd seen a couple of other groups doing the same thing, and in days to follow would see many more uniformed school children drawing the Houses of Parliament. But there was something about these children that was just a little odd. Then I noticed that they were sitting in a very particular formation, and that every so often, as they sat there sketching, a well dressed headmaster type would come by one particular group of boys and offer help. Stepping back a little bit I was able to finally figure out what was going on when I noticed the camera crew filming the scene. "Oops!" I thought, stumbling across their shot, and snapping more candids on my way out of the park.

Once back on the street I headed past Parliament, poked around the Westminster Abbey grounds, stopped to admire the sheer fortitude of the stoic troopers of the Household Cavalry stationed in front of the Horse Guards building, and continued down Whitehall, all the while passing large groups of people carrying flags with the Union Jack on one side and the Visa logo on the back. I had no idea exactly what was going on, but as soon as I got to Trafalgar Square I found out.

Turns out that, in celebration of Great Britain's record medal take at the Beijing Olympics, the city of London was throwing a giant celebration in Trafalgar Square, with the Olympic and Para-Olympic team in full attendance, "London Calling" on repeat, and a very special guest appearance by Mr. Boris Johnson, who is not only kind of funny looking, but also actually quite humorous.

Now, I never would have seen any of that if I hadn't been walking.

2) Museum hop
There are so many museums and galleries in London it's impossible to think I could ever get to see all of them. Or even a fraction of them. Maybe if I was here for a year I'd be able to make a dent. But, I am resolved to try to stop by a museum or gallery every day....or at least every other day. Even if I only wander through one wing I'll be happy ( I get museum head pretty quickly).

So far I feel like I've done fairly well, knocking out Tate Britain and the National Gallery (well, parts of it) over the last week. And, as luck would have it, the National Portrait Gallery is hosting the Annie Liebovitz exhibit that I had meant to catch in San Francisco a few months ago.

3) Drink as many lager and limes as I can manage (not at one time).
When my family and I visited London three years ago my mom introduced me to a drink that I've tried to re-create countless times since...lager and lime. I don't know what it is about a lager and lime that is so delicious, but I can't get enough. I've have been drinking them since I got here...and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon.

4) Spend my remaining few travel dollars on theatre tickets.
One of the best things about London, in my opinion, is the theatre scene. Last time I was here I was ASTOUNDED at the number of people who were in attendance at a show at the National on a Wednesday night. Last night when I went to see The Last Five Years I was once again impressed by the huge number of young people who had come out to see the show. And when you take into account that you can catch some of the world's best actors are onstage here, including Kenneth Branagh (my absolute favorite actor- ever!) and Dame Judi Dench, and a few big Hollywood stars like Josh Hartnett, it's basically a dream come true.

5) Shop
Aside from one of those cheesy open-roof bus tours, the last time I was in London I did very little actual sightseeing. I'm not exactly sure why this was, most likely because my family and I were exhausted from our previous two weeks of travel, stressed because of some family concerns back in Canada, and slightly on edge because of the London tube bombings only a few weeks earlier. Needless to say, all of us kind of reverted to a place of comfort; my dad and brother visited every war and military museum they could find, my mum and I shopped and drank tea.

Needless to say, on this visit I am determined not to spend all of my time shopping. However, there is just something about London that screams "Shop!" So much so that I just can't help it. I start my day off heading to a museum and end up in the crazy department store Pimark being crushed to death by frantic shoppers as they surge for the rack of recently restocked boots. It's crazy. I don't even have any money and yet I will hop on a train to Camden Town, spend all day wandering the markets and return with a pair of legwarmers. Don't ask me why I do it. This strange phenomenon has now happened on two separate trips and I'm not going to try to fight it...I'm just going to accept...and scout out another shopping destination for tomorrow.